The On The Bookshelf Podcast

John Reeves with a fresh new look at a turbulent decade for US Grant, Soldier of Destiny

An original, thought-provoking look at the famed general that delves into his conflicted connection to slavery in far more detail than ever before. Captain Ulysses S. Grant, an obscure army officer who was expelled for alcohol abuse in 1854, rose to become general-in-chief of the United States Army in 1864. What accounts for this astonishing turn-around during this extraordinary decade?
Before the war, he lived in a pro-slavery community near St. Louis, where there were very few outright abolitionists. During the war, he gradually realized that Emancipation was the only possible outcome of the war that would be consistent with America’s founding values and future prosperity.

Grant’s life story is an almost inconceivable tale of redemption within the context of his fraught relationships with his antislavery father and his slaveholding wife. This narrative explores the poverty, inequality, and extraordinary vitality of the American West during a crucial time in our nation’s history. Writers on Grant have tended to overlook his St. Louis years (1854-1860), even though they are essential for understanding his later triumphs.

Sarah Sundin returns with a powerful story of refugees in WWII London & BBC reporters

“Embers in the London Sky” a novel by Sarah Sundin (Revell, a division of the Baker Publishing Group)

This book is very close to my heart, as the main hero is a radio broadcaster for the BBC during WWII. Hugh Collingwood is caught between his family’s relentless insistence that he quit “wasting his time” and get serious about being part of the landed gentry, and his love for bringing the stories of people during the Blitz, even putting himself in harm’s way to get the story.

The heroine of the book is a widow from the Netherlands, Aleida van der Zee Martens. Married to an abusive and controlling husband, and traveling with their 3-year-old son who has no fingers on his right hand (to her husband’s disgust), they are fleeing their nation as the Nazis attack. While she is overcome and must rest, her husband gives their son to the first couple they meet who are headed to London! When she awakens, she is horrified, and he is nonchalant about it. The Stukas strafe the road and he is killed, without ever telling Aleida anything about the strangers who have her son. When she gets to London, she contacts her aunt and uncle, and she begins a relentless search for whoever might have her young son. Days turn into weeks, and into months. Aleida gets a job with the refugee relocation program, which is evacuating children out of London while the nightly bombardment continues. She hopes to find him, but it seems hopeless, and her advisor is rude and unfeeling.

When she meets Hugh, he is kind and understanding. He wants to help her by telling her story over the BBC, but must get past a supervisor who does not respect his work or him. Hugh continues to do excellent work, putting his own life in danger at times. He is drawn to the lovely and brave Aleida. Dare she trust another man? Will his aristocratic parents see Aleida as a ragged refugee who they don’t want in their country? And where is little Theo? Will he ever be reunited with his mother, and will he even remember her?

It is a powerful tale, well-written and filled with dangers and simple joys. Sarah Sundin never disappoints. Sarah Sundin is one of the very best historical novelists; she does exacting research to be sure that her characters and situations are absolutely authentic. Her recent novels have been a departure from her previous trilogies, but they are marvelous, too.

We welcome back Sarah to ON THE BOOKSHELF on WTBF-AM/FM for Mother’s Day!

Steve Gaines shares never-seen interviews with Beatles and their circle

ABOUT ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE is an oral history of The Beatles from never-before-seen interviews. All You Need Is Love is a groundbreaking oral history of the one of the most enduring musical acts of all time. The material is comprised of intimate interviews with Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, their families, friends and business associates that were conducted by Beatles intimate Peter Brown and author Steven Gaines in 1980-1981 during the preparation of their international bestseller, The Love You Make, which spent four months on the New York Times bestseller list in 1983 and remains the biggest selling biography worldwide about the Beatles.  Only a small portion of the contents of these transcribed interviews have ever been revealed. The interviews are unique and candid. The information, stories, and experiences, and the authority of the people who relate to them, have historic value. No collection like this can ever be assembled again. In addition to interviews with Paul, Yoko, Ringo and George, Brown and Gaines also include interviews from ex-wives Cynthia Lennon, Pattie Harrison Clapton, and Maureen Starkey, as well as the major social and business figures of the Beatles' inner circle. Among other sought-after information the interviews contribute definitively as to why the Beatles broke up.

ABOUT STEVEN GAINES

Steven Gaines is the author of Philistines at the Hedgerow: Passion and Property in the Hamptons, whose journalism has appeared in Vanity Fair, the New York Times, and New York magazine, where he was a contributor.

 

 

Legendary Movie Musical star Russ Tamblyn shares his life in his new memoir

Russ Tamblyn-”Dancing on the Edge: A Journey of Living, Loving, and Tumbling through Hollywood” (Blackstone Publishing)

He’s gone from “the Boy with Green Hair” to the dancer with red hair in ”Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” to the Jet with an attitude in “West Side Story” and the steamy “Peyton Place”; made kiddie movies and serious ones, B-movies, and worked forever on a movie with his friend of half a century, rocker Neil Young.

His life-long friends (almost from womb to tomb)  included actors Dean Stockwell , Dennis Hopper, Natalie Wood, Debbie Reynolds, Bobby Driscoll, Margaret O’Brien, Glenn Ford and George Chakiris. He was complimented by legendary dancers like Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, and cheographed by Jerome Robbins. He was pals with Chet Baker, Sidney Poitier, and legendary playwright Henry Miller, and was directed by Cecil B, DeMille and Lloyd Bridges when he was a young man. He became an avante-gard artist under the tutelage and friendship of Wallace Berman.

At age 89 Russ Tamblyn is ready to tell his story, warts and all: two failed marriages in his youth due largely to his serial promiscuity and his occasional rage (inherited from his dad, a frustrated actor); his two-year stint in the US Army (like his pal Elvis); his lean years as an actor as he searched for his place in the world; his delight at becoming a father to two lovely daughters (and became known as their dad rather than an international dancing actor); David Lynch and Twin Peaks; building a lasting and loving relationship with his third wife; and accepting the physical limitations of aging gracefully.

He had the talent and the opportunity to work alongside some of the legendary figures in movies and musicals of the post WWII era to this day, and he tells what was the best thing about doing shows like West Side Story. (It’s my very favorite movie, ever). Tamblynn also writes that his acrobatic ability and fearless attitude proved enormously important in his career in movie musicals; and he tells which was the most challenging song to do. The Long Ships was a very cool movie to watch but it had some serious dangers and disappointments. He shares the highs and lows of making it. Very importantly, he is justly proud of his two daughters and their success.

The stories he tells! A few years ago, Russ and George Chakiris being pushed in wheelchairs through a busy airport, these two great dancers, they snap their fingers and Bonnie sings “The Jets are gonna have their day tonight, the Sharks are gonna have their way, tonight!”, and the young man pushing Chakiris asked the name of the song. She told him, and they laughed. “we don’t rumble anymore”, Tamblyn says, “we ramble!”

There’s another story of how Russ found the guy who broke into his home and stole some personal stuff. At the trial, the public defender asked him one question: “Was the arresting officer’s name Krupke?” (this was an obvious reference to the song Tamblyn did in West Side Story, so Russ chuckled. The judge asked how to spell it, and another round of laughter arose. Ths serial burglar got 9 years in jail. )

It's a rollicking, painfully truthful story of a life of movies, theatre, and fine art, of mistakes made and friendships sealed, of loves won and lost. I had the privilege of talking to one of my favorite stars about his new book. Listen for it on the Morning Show on WTBF-FM, and check my podcast, onthebookshelf.podbean.com.

Mary Johns Wilson brings great ideas for a day in Alabama's capitol

“100 Things To Do In Montgomery Alabama Before You Die” by Mary Johns Wilson (Reedy Press)

You would be surprised to see just how many fun things there are to do in he Capitol City and its close neighbors, and you won’t have to spend a month’s wages to enjoy them.

If you love history, Montgomery can show you the mid-19^th century attempt to maintain a culture built on slave labor, and the opposing movement a century later to finally achieve full equality for that same oppressed people. Jim Crowe’s ugly face is displayed in the Rosa Parks Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and the Legacy Museum. But it’s more than civil war and civil rights, as important as those places are. There is the National Air Force Enlisted Heritage Hall; the Fort Toulouse-Fort Jackson Park to remember the earliest days of the Alabama Territory; and the literary legacy of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Examine the nearby Wetumpka Impact Crater, when the stars really fell on Alabama two centuries ago. Spend a day at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, or plan a night at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival,  (half of the live Shakespeare theaters on this continent!) Enjoy the Alabama Ballet, the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, the Montgomery Chorale,  the Capitol City Sounds, or the visiting musicians at the Montgomery Performing Arts Centre.

Spend the afternoon watching one of minor league baseball’s coolest teams, the Montgomery Biscuits, or take a ride on a real riverboat up and down the Alabama River. Just south in Hope Hull, your kids can see wild African and Asian animals roaming free at the Alabama Safari Park. The River Region is home to several community theatres, and some cinemas that play film classics. Go wild at the Alabama Nature Center, stroll through the Bamboo Forest in Wilderness Park, float down the Autauga Creek Canoe Trail or Kayak with Coosa River Adventures.

There are 29 places to enjoy food and drink explored here, including Red’s Little Schoolhouse on the way to Ramer, Chappy’s Deli, and  Chris’ Famous Hotdogs.

Visit the Blue Ribbon Dairy for the ice cream; read local authors at the NewSouth Bookstore (former home of Montgomery’s own publishing house); taste-test treats at Tucker Pecan Company, or stretch your legs at SweetCreek Farm Market south of Montgomery.The author has even put together suggested itineraries for downtown, midtown, Easy Montgomery-Pike Road, Cloverdale, Rural Life, Civil Rights, Family friendly, girl’s weekend or bachelorette party, guy’s weekend or bachelor party, 48 hours in Prattville, 48 hours in Wetumpka, and 48 hours in Millbrook. Plus activites for all four seasons.